I am Free
by Midnight Rain
Summary: We're different. See, you too are a dreamer. We hold the breath of life close, but we are not bound to it. We are free... S/Q


**Note: **_Well, here is my second and definitely my best song fic for FF8. Well, I don't have much to say except, **I would greatly appreciate any comment you have for my story. **The song is not mine… It's Mariah Carey's **I am Free. **_

_Please… enjoy. And review… lol. _                  

       **_I am Free_**

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Once I was a prisoner

**Quistis wrapped in a warm, cotton blanket slipped from the confines of her dormitory. She tiptoed down the hallway, nothing could be heard, not even the faintest sound. As she entered the main room of Garden, the air filled with the sound of trickling water and the smell of chlorine and dark, hidden secrets. Nobody occupied this area, but the lone jogger that runs into the night. **

**One day he will make a wonderful SeeD. Ambitious and determined… **

**One day we will all reach our dreams… **

**Quistis's grip on her throw tightened as she nodded hello to the ambitious cadet as he jogged his nightly laps too young to wield a weapon, to old to play with toys.**

Lost inside myself

**Quistis thoughts turned to her problems. Seifer was re-admitted into Garden instead of spending so and so years in prison he punishment was to serve. He was different some how. Very captivating and… handsome. **

**Quistis rolled her eyes. It was such an unusual way to think of a former student and ex-enemy. He had snuggled his way into her heart, whether romantically or amiably. She wasn't sure. **

**She sighed, closing her eyes as she walked. She exited the garden, making her way across the plain that seemed to stretch on endlessly. A cool wind hit her on the cheek, ruffling her hair. The salty sea and the faint smell of pine… wonderful. The stars twinkled from the cold, infinite blackness like drops of tears, drops of silver paint.  **

With the world surrounding me

**At last, the break onto the sand. It slipped through her toes like the ever escaping flow of time, forever constant, pausing for no one. The waves rushed up, reaching their apogee and tumbling down in a flow of white foam. In and out…. Rushing back to the sea. **

**Quistis sat down on the sand, running her fingers through its gritty, ecru particles. Raising her hand in front of her eyes, she watched them slip through her fingers, to be caught on the wind, and whisked away. **

**The waves rushed up, brushing her feet with its cold, autumnal fingers. She shivered, falling backwards to stare at the sky. The clouds seemed to dash past as if on a journey where time was nothing to be wasted. It **couldn't **be wasted… **

**It sounded a lot like life… every moment wasted could have been used in achieving a goal… getting that one step closer. Closer to succeeding… **

Wandering through the mystery

**Seifer had watched that solitary figure approaching since it was but a dim dot amid the field. Now, she lay upon the beach, wrapped in her sky blue blanket, wrapped in her world. She hid herself. It was unusual for someone so beautiful to be so self conscious. People of her grace are usually confidant and outgoing, flaunting their beauty. **

**And yet, she hid. **

**He stood from where he had been crouching benighted by the shadows of the night. He stealthily made his way down onto the beach. His trench coat billowed behind him as a strong gust of wind rushed past. He knelt beside her and her simple, blue eyes that reminded him of the ocean, for both hid so much, locked on him. **

But now I am free

**Quistis sat up, "What are you doing here?" **

**"I was here before you were." He nodded towards the grassy area, just before you step onto the beach. **

**"Oh," she said softly. "You know what, Seifer. I have always wanted to just start swimming… and never look back. I wonder how far I would make it." **

**"To your dreams…" Seifer trailed off, knowing what he had said was poetic and a little out of character. **

**"Yes, but I would get tired eventually, and no one would be there to save me," she sighed. **

**"They say that those who die in the ocean fall to the bottom and become mermaids." **

**"Who said that?" Quistis asked while letting out a small laugh. **

**"Fishermen, you know them. All coots." **

You gave me a breath of life

**"Well, enough about dreams and those intangible wishes that no one could ever catch. Don't you love that smell?" She asked inhaling the salty air. **

**"It smells like salt water. What's so special about that?" **

**"Not just salt water… your dreams, my dreams and" she laughed softly. "Your mermaids." **

**Seifer shook his head, "It's a good thing you rarely talk. You have a wild imagination." **

**"I don't rarely talk… I just hide myself." **

**Ah, exactly what Seifer had determined. "Why do you do that?" **

**"Because, I am afraid of the rejection."**

**"Then why do you tell me this? Are you not afraid I will reject you too?" **

**"Well, you are different. See, you too are a dreamer. We hold the breath of life close, but are never bound to it. We are free." **

Unclouded my eyes

**Seifer smiled. "Are we now?" **

**"I believe so… look at Squall. Commander Leonheart, though I love him with all my heart, sisterly, I find that he is to wrapped up in all that work that he will be forty long before he reaches that age."**

**"He does work a lot," Seifer agreed. **

**"He has no time for Rinoa. He really needs to spend more time with her. She gets lonely. After all she is the new one… well, in a sense. You know, she plans on becoming a SeeD." **

**"You talk a lot when you aren't around other people." **

**Quistis sighed, "I suppose it's because I hold it in for so long. You are a means to let it escape." **

**"I see." Seifer smiled, looking out at the tossing waters.  He was silent for awhile and then, "I feel like my eyes have been opened. Like I can see…" **

**"What do you mean?" Quistis looked at him. **

**"I must have been possessed when I accepted to become her knight… I finally see what the difference between good and evil is. You guys risk your life to protect people you have never met." **

**"Seifer, we have always done this." **

**"I know, but I got to witness it. You all stood against the sorceress to protect the world." **

**"You knew we would." **

**"Yes, I knew. But, I could never fully understand… for some weird reason." **

With a sweet serenity

**Quistis placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Everybody has already forgiven you." **

**"All I wanted was to be a Knight." **

**"If that's all you wanted, you can be mine." She placed her head on his shoulder in place of her hand.**

**Seifer glanced down at her, and then sighed. He watched the ocean swirl. Each waved chasing the one in front of it. His gaze wondered to where the deep sea met the endless sky; dark waters to endless navy blue. **

Lighting a ray of hope for me

**Each star shone brilliantly. These stars were fires that planted themselves in each and every heart leaving a spark of hope that would never go out lest the person would loose their dreams. Every day one star goes out, one falls. Another human beings dream is being shattered. Either by lover or an obstacle that has placed itself so strategically in front of the person's desire. **

**But the stars, for those who know, are there to lend a helping hand. A purpose for your sojourn. There to encourage… **

**Seifer had remembered glancing up at them many a time before. Whenever he felt down… **

**Or out of hope…. **

And now I am free 

**Quistis sighed; she didn't know what had changed about him or why he was so open with her now. She felt comfortable around him, like she could just express everything and he would understand it all. Now, whether or not that is true is another story…**

**Quistis felt like she could just rise to her feet and fly…**

Free to live

**Like she could live her life how she wanted to and nobody would criticize it. Nobody would make fun of how she would dream and never stop living and learning. **

Free to laugh

**She wouldn't be accused of anything when she just dropped her demeanor and laughed on the spot. After all, laughter is the best medicine. **

Free to soar

**Quistis stood, dragging Seifer up with her. She raised her arms into the air as a gust of wind blew past, raising sand into the night sky and swirling the scent of dreams and the ****midnight**** sea around them. "Don't you feel like you could just jump into the sky and never hit the ground? Just fly away." **

**"I feel like that around you," Seifer murmured. **

**"Did you say something," Quistis questioned. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you." **

**"I haven't said a word." Seifer took a step towards the ocean. **

Free to shine

**His gaze drifted back up to the sky, to the stars burning with a cold fire. He could almost sense Quistis's presence behind him. Her face, bright. Happy to have found someone to console her dreams in…**

**She was shinning, even at night. She was the cold fire of the stars above. The woman who would offer you everything, dangle it in front of you and just like dreams, just like the stars, her offer would fall away before you could grasp it. **

**Of course, he hoped Quistis wasn't like that.**

Free to give

**He hoped she was willing to give everything that she could offer. Just like he was becoming willing to make that offer. Strange how in one night, one simple conversation you can know who would make you happy for the rest of your life. Someone you would willingly give up the time to. Someone like Quistis… business like and yet, so clearly a dreamer. **

Free to love

**Seifer turned around to face her and found her staring at him as well. He didn't know what had been running through her head at the moment, but she looked like she was thinking the same thing. **

**Seifer walked up to her, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the lips without her consent. **

Free enough to fly

**But she didn't seem to mind… **

**Seifer pulled away from the kiss. "You don't tell anyone about this side of me and I won't tell anybody about your utopist side. Agree?" **

**"Agree," and she kissed him lightly again.**

Once I was so alone

Unsteady and cold

But your love rained down upon me

**As they kissed, like the weather had been promising rain began to fall softly from the sky and the air took on the smell of rain. **

**Quistis pulled away, laughing as the rain poured down her cheeks, plastering her hair to her face. She smiled as she motioned in the general direction of the Garden. "Ready to go in?" **

Washing away uncertainty

But now

**"Let's go." Seifer took her hand and they began their trek across the plain, with the rain falling down upon them. **

**And the stars shinning above… like new found dreams… **

I am free  


End file.
